Begin by studying the translations of the printed portions of a marriage certificate. Learn what information the different sections contain. Pay close attention to the location of the bride's and groom's names.

The highlighted words are clues to important information that follows. The color of the translation in the margin matches the color of the highlighted Portuguese term in the record.
These tips should save you from the feeling you need to read every record completely word-for-word. Instead, you can look for key words that immediately precede key information.

If you have found the ancestral couple you wanted, study the rest of the record. For translating dates, ages, resident addresses, occupations, color (race), relationships, or status terms, refer to the Portuguese Genealogical Word List.